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Luv and online dating profiles.

A little
while ago, I noticed “truly hip” people (the quotation marks used here are
symbolic of dripping sarcasm) throwing around the expression I heart rather
than I love. Evidently, it was meant to be cute. As a writer, I found it
annoying. I’m fine with heart as a symbol for love. After all, who doesn’t like
the ads: I (heart symbol) New York.However, to use it instead of love in a sentence is as contrived as
putting little hearts or daisies over your i’s and j’s.

Unfortunately,
though I heart is no longer de rigueur (how’s that for contrived!), I now see
luv being used in place of love.

Today I
scanned three of the biggest dating sites: match.com, Lavalife and Plenty of
Fish, and each one had a fair share of dating profiles that used luv instead of
love. I luv cycling. I luv toes. I luv taking a perfectly good four letter word
and turning it into a 3 letter word with one letter replaced by a phonetically
similar letter and I luv doing this for no good reason.

I don’t
understand. People are saving all of one character. Why not just write love
correctly? What’s the point of writing it as luv? The only thing I can figure
is that someone might be trying to attract illiterate singles, but even that
doesn’t make sense because an illiterate single wouldn’t be reading an online
dating profile.

Instead
of using a confusing element to your online dating profile. Be clear. If you
love baseball then write you love baseball, not you luv baseball. If you want
to exercise some license with language, do it with reason and/or cleverness. Be
fun; be clever, but don’t get too trendy.Luv is something that a high school junior might write. You risk
sounding contrived, juvenile and/or inarticulate.

For more
tips and advice, listen to the podcasts, and read the blogs and samples at
http://trysweettalk.com

1. If You're With Your Friends, It Means...

Studies show that if you use a profile picture with a group of friends, others may think you're more extroverted. They also may think you're more carefree, fun-loving, and you want to give off an image of being popular.

That's all great, but remember: a lot of research done on online dating has found that people don't like when you use a group photo. It's harder to find you!

2. If You Have Big Eyes, It Means...

Good news, girls with large eyes: research has found that people will judge a profile picture showing off your big peepers are more attractive and more youthful. According to everything we know about attraction, this seems pretty accurate.

3. If You Have A Dark Picture, It Means..

Surveys found that if you post a picture that is dark, people are less likely to think of you as friendly and approachable, and probably not as likeable. It makes sense —if given two options, one bright picture, and one dark, the bright is just more visually pleasing.

5. If You're Showing Something Off, It Means...

If you post a profile picture that is showing something off—like you having fun with a group of friends, you on stage doing something awesome, you being the center of attention in some way, or you doing something impressive (like running a marathon)— beware. This doesn't mean what you think it means.

Research has found that it makes people think you need more self-esteem because you're looking for compliments.

7. If You Look Neat and Stylish, It Means...

If you want to come off as an extrovert, one study found that your profile picture should be a little something like this: smiling, standing in an energetic way (as opposed to a tense pose), looking healthy, and wearing something that makes you look neat and stylish. That all defintiely makes sense.

8. If You Have A Neutral Expression, It Means...

The most recent research on profile pictures found something very specific: if you have a profile picture where you're making a neutral expression, have short hair, black hair, and you're wearing a hat and/or sunglasses, people won't see you as very friendly. They'll see you as more stand-offish and less approachable.

This seems pretty obvious: if you're not smiling, you're going to be seen as less friendly. What is interesting is the short, black hair findings.

9. A Big Smile Means...

One study found that when your profile picture involves a big, authentic smile, people seem to think you're more approachable. That shouldn't surprise anybody, and it also shouldn't surprise anybody that all studies done about profile pictures found similar results. I don't think it needs to be said, but seriously: try a smiling profile picture.

10. Showing Off A Particular Sense Of Style Means...

One study found that if you show off a particular sense of style rather than a "healthy, neat appearance," people are going to see you as more open to new experiences. This does make sense when you think about it: showing off a more unique sense of style makes you seem more adventurous as a person.

Studies show that if you use a profile picture with a group of friends, others may think you're more extroverted. They also may think you're more carefree, fun-loving, and you want to give off an image of being popular.

That's all great, but remember: a lot of research done on online dating has found that people don't like when you use a group photo. It's harder to find you!